Aleksandr Lebed, who introduces himself as Russia's next president, said he was "green with envy" yesterday at America's long tradition of peaceful transfer of power. Speaking with journalists after watching President Bill Clinton's inauguration, Lebed said he hoped he would one day have a similar... MORE

. Prime Minister Andris Skele resigned yesterday after President Guntis Ulmanis and various political circles -- including some within the governing coalition -- objected to Skele's choice of Vasily Melnik as finance minister. A successful private entrepreneur and a member of the Managers' Democratic party... MORE

Prevented from visiting Sevastopol last December because of a leg injury sustained while rehearsing a high-wire act in the Moscow circus, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov finally landed safely in that Ukrainian city on January 17. Inaugurating a block of flats built in Sevastopol for Russian... MORE

Britain's first attempt to hold a war crimes trial was abandoned last week after doctors for the defense said Szymon Serafinowicz, 86, was suffering from senile dementia and was unable to defend himself. Serafinowicz had been accused of murdering three Jews in Nazi-occupied Belorussia. This... MORE

A regular meeting of prime ministers from the CIS countries, held on January 17 in Moscow, was marked by "sharp exchanges of views," according to CIS executive secretary Ivan Korotchenya. Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan rejected the main document, a medium-term "Concept of CIS Economic... MORE

Russian defense minister Igor Rodionov has reportedly sent an official message to top military commanders around the country reminding them that Russia is pursuing a long-term policy of strategic partnership with China. The document, said to have been obtained by Interfax, speaks positively of multi-lateral... MORE

Russian officials are losing no opportunity to assert that Chechnya's January 27 presidential and parliamentary elections will be undemocratic because the Chechen authorities are refusing to allow refugees to vote outside the republic. The Chechen authorities dispute the high number of disenfranchised voters (as many... MORE

Russian air force officials proudly revealed on January 18 that the test flights of the multi-role Su-32 jet fighter had been completed and that the "weapon of the next century" was ready for service. The plane -- said to be superior to the American F-15... MORE

The Russian Duma, where Communist and nationalist members failed last week to win passage of a bill allowing Cossacks to carry arms, has instructed its Legislation Committee to draft an amendment to the recently adopted Law on Weapons in order to give Cossacks the right... MORE

Former Russian security supremo Aleksandr Lebed traveled to Washington yesterday after a high-profile visit to Germany, where businessmen and politicians were keen to meet with the man who calls himself Russia's next president. Lebed, it has been revealed, was invited to attend President Bill Clinton's... MORE